Cultivation of Artemisia annua

- Links to the Market -

ICRAF/CDE AFRICA HERBAL ANTIMALARIA MEETING

Nairobi, Kenya, 20-22 March 2006

Antony EllmanConsultant Agronomist/Socio-Economist

MIGRATION OF THE CROP

Smallholder Backyard Cultivation

2000 plusDRC, ETHIOPIA, MADAGASCAR,

NIGERIA, SOUTH AFRICA,

ZAMBIA, ETC.

Smallholder and Commercial Cultivation

1994-2006EAST AFRICA

Experimental plotsVarietal improvement

1980sEUROPE, AMERICAS, AUSTRALASIA

Small plantations1970sVIETNAM

Leaf Collection from Wild Stands

168 BC to 1980sCHINA

Method of Cultivation/Collection

Period of Expansion

Country/Region

Cultivated Artemisia hybrid, Arusha, Tanzania

Wild Artemisia plants, Chongqing, China

CULTIVATION STRATEGIES

Encourage expansionSubsidy needed to ensure

affordability

Not recommended without further research

Conclusion

Difficult to achieve sustained and affordable

supply of ACTs

Difficult to ensure full dose, high risk of recrudescence, high risk of drug resistance

Risks

Highly effective, assuming correctly used

UnprovenEfficacyEssentialAlmost impossibleQuality control

High cost, complex Low cost, simpleProduction system

Smallholders or commercial growers

SmallholdersProducersHigh yieldImmaterialVarietal preference

Large scaleImmaterialScale of CultivationClose to factoryImmaterialLocation

EXTRACTED ARTEMISININHERBAL INFUSIONEND USE CULTIVATION

ISSUES

Chinese herbalist with dried Artemisia leaves, Szechuan

Kenyan smallholder plot, intercropped Artemisia

Commercial Artemisia plantation, Thika, Kenya

CONDITIONS FOR ADOPTION

Easy access, Sufficient capacityProcessing Facility

Competitive with returns from other cash cropsProfitability

High demand for transplanting, weeding, harvesting

Labour Availability

Labour-intensive cultivationNeeds little land

Land Availability

Short daylength triggers floweringDay Length

Good drainage, moderate fertilitypH over 5.5

Soil

Reliable for planting/transplanting700-1,000mm

Rainfall

Temperate, Sub-TropicalClimate

1,000-1,500 maslAltitude

Artemisia and Ginkgo farmers, Szechuan

Artemisia intercropped with food crops, Szechuan, China

Artemisia intercropped with Ginkgo, Szechuan

Field of Artemisia and Ginkgo, Szechuan

SUPPLY OF ARTEMISIA SEED

Seed shortageDependency

Price

Few SourcesRisks in currentseed supply

Small scale onlyNot commercial

India, Brazil,Tasmania, China,

US

MicropropagationVegetative

propagation

F21.5-2.0 tph0.8-1.2 %

F1 2.0-2.5 tph1.0-1.5 %

MediplantSwitzerland

Hybridisation

0.4-0.6 %China, VietnamSeed Selection

0.01-0.3 % artemisininChinaWild Stands

Wild Artemisia plant, An Yue, China

Hybrid seedlings in commercial nursery, Arusha, Tanzania

Artemisia cuttings for vegetative propagation, Arusha

Mother nursery for vegetative propagation, Chongqing

CULTIVATION PRACTICES

Below 13% moisture contentStorageStick or tractorThreshing Air dry in fieldDrying

Just before floweringHarvesting Few pests – honeymoon period!Pest and Disease Control

Young plants susceptible to weed competitionWeed ControlYoung plants very susceptible to water stressWater Requirements

Nitrogen and Phosphate requiredNutritional Needs10,000-30,000 plants per haPlanting Density

Start of rains, Dry period for harvestingPlanting DateWeed free field, friable seedbedLand Preparation

F2 SeedBroadcast, Raised beds, Transplant

F1 SeedPelleted, Plugs/Trays,

Transplant

Germination Method

F2 seedling nursery, Tengeru, Tanzania

Densely planted Artemisia, Mwandet, Tanzania

Low density crop, affected by drought, Arusha

Artemisia showing premature flowering, Tengeru

Harvested Artemisia crop, Thika, Kenya

Field drying of Artemisia, Thika, Kenya

SUPPORT FOR LEAF PRODUCERS

Rights and Obligations of GrowerRights and Obligations of Buyer

Grower’s Contract

1st payment on delivery2nd payment on checking3rd payment after testing

Price Formula

Collection Centre ManagementPayment Procedure

Leaf Collection

Source - Company or BankIndividual or Group Lending

Credit Provision

Agronomic trialsMonitoring and Evaluation

Research and Monitoring

Grower’s ManualGAP Guidelines

Extension and Training

SeedlingsProduction inputs

Input Supply

FUTURE NEEDS OF LEAF PRODUCERS

Producer – Producer LinksProducer – Processor Links

Processor – ACT Provider Links

Co-ordinated Expansion

Competing buyers of leafSupply linked to funded demand

Market guarantees

Market Access

Credit source for growersPre-finance for buyers

Subsidy for ACP distribution

FinanceFarmer training, Grower manualsExtension and Training

Completion of GuidelinesGAP GuidelinesResearch station trials, On farm trialsAgronomic Trials

High Yielding Varieties, Location Specific,Competing Producers

Seed Supply

Mature Artemisia crop, Happy Farmers, Thika, Kenya